TheArsenale x Nikos Manafis RD-Racer

The TheArsenale x Nikos Manafis RD-Racer is a commissioned custom cafe racer that layers 1930s art deco streamlining, 1960s frame geometry, and 1980s futurism into a single compact 125cc machine, with an Alcantara seat and industrial design methodology applied to motorcycle building for an object that performs visually as much as it rides.

The Concept

Nikos Manafis was commissioned directly by TheArsenale to build the RD-Racer. The brief drew on the cafe racer tradition but demanded the application of industrial design process rather than custom motorcycle intuition. The result is a machine that draws from three distinct eras simultaneously: the proportions and base frame from the 1960s, art deco streamlining from the 1930s, and the forward-looking aesthetic language of 1980s futurism. Manafis describes the intention as creating the experience of riding, the performance of theatre, and the rubbernecking that the machine prompts whenever it passes. At 14,800 EUR, it is priced as a design object that moves.

What Makes It

The seat is upholstered in Alcantara, the material developed in Italy for automotive and aerospace interiors, chosen here for its tactile precision and visual refinement against the machine's hard lines. The application of industrial design techniques to the build gives the RD-Racer a consistency of form that is unusual in the custom cafe racer category: panel gaps, surface transitions, and proportional relationships read as designed rather than assembled. The compact dimensions, 2,100 mm long by 810 mm wide with an 830 mm seat height, create a physical presence more precise than the engine displacement alone would suggest.

The Build

The 125cc air-cooled four-stroke engine drives through a five-speed gearbox, suited to the machine's urban and light-touring intent. Telescopic forks handle front suspension and twin shocks handle the rear. Braking uses a disk at the front and drum at the rear, appropriate to the weight and power of the platform. Tires are sized 3.00-18 front and 3.50-18 rear on 18-inch wheels, a specification that gives the RD-Racer its classically proportioned rolling stance. Wheelbase is 1,255 mm and fuel capacity is 5 litres, both consistent with the compact cafe racer brief.

Specifications

• Builder: Nikos Manafis
• Commissioned by: TheArsenale
• Engine: 125cc, 2-valve, 4-stroke, air-cooled
• Transmission: 5-speed
• Suspension: Telescopic forks (front), twin shock (rear)
• Brakes: Disk front, drum rear
• Tires: 3.00-18 front, 3.50-18 rear
• Seat Upholstery: Alcantara
• Dimensions: 2,100 x 810 x 980 mm
• Seat Height: 830 mm
• Wheelbase: 1,255 mm
• Fuel Capacity: 5 litres
• Price: 14,800 EUR

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